Review: THE CAROLE KING AND JAMES TAYLOR STORY at BroadStage
Starring Phoebe Katis & Dan Clews
After meeting in Kent, England, international singers/songwriters Phoebe Katis and Dan Clews have been travelling the world together for ten years, performing the fabulously nostalgic The Carole King and James Taylor Story to appreciative audiences. The two platonic friends, both married to other people – just as Carole and James were – share a mixture of renowned hits, album tracks, and history lessons about the two artists who single-handedly ushered in the singer/songwriter movement during the 1970s. While harmonizing to perfection, Katis rules the piano with the sensitivity necessary to realistically perform King’s songs of self-awareness and the longing to find your place in the world, while Clews’ finger-picking expertise on guitar adds a real sense of introspective musical magic to Taylor’s.
The Carole King and James Taylor Story is filled with the icons’ songs as either duets or solos while sharing personal information about their lives together and apart. Beginning her career as a 16-year-old songwriter, Carole King spent years shaping the sound of the 1960s, writing hits for some of the biggest artists of the era including “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” and “One Fine Day” after marrying her high school sweetheart, Gerry Goffin, in 1959. And even though
In 1962, Gerry persuaded Carole to go on American Bandstand to perform her first single, “It Might as Well Rain Until September.” Insecure about her solo performance skills, nervousness got the best of her and the song was rated a 42 out of 100 points by a panel of teens on the show. That rebuke led King to leave the industry as a performer for 9 years, while 6 years younger James Taylor was developing his skills growing up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, even as the mental illness that plagued him most of life was already taking ahold of him at age 14.
Phoebe Katis and Dan Clews perform as The Carole King and James Taylor Story at BroadStage in Santa Moninca on 5/4/26. Photo credit: Shari Barrett
In 1967, Taylor went to Greenwich Village in New York City, with musical partner Danny Kortchmar where they formed The Flying Machine, performing in the small Night Owl club. This was the first place Carole saw James perform his original music. And she never forgot him or his easy rapport with the audience while onstage, so different from her fear of performing on her own. For even though Carol had written over 400 songs recorded by other artists, she never thought her voice was good enough to sing her own songs.
While Gerry and Carole were immensely successful as songwriters during the early years of their marriage, personal differences led to their divorce in 1968. Feeling uprooted as a single mother, Carole moved to Los Angeles where she hoped to launch a successful solo career. She and James frequently crossed paths at local clubs, and their platonic friendship blossomed based on their love of music and honesty with each other.
James Taylor and Carole King reunited to perform at The Troubadour in November 2007 to celebrate the venue's 50th Anniversary, They first performed there together in November 1970.
In November 1970, Carole King stood backstage at the Troubadour Club in Los Angeles, clutching the piano with trembling hands. For years, she had been the voice behind the voices -the writer of songs that defined a generation, yet rarely the one standing under the lights to sing them. That night was different. Encouraged by her friend James Taylor, she was about to perform songs from her upcoming solo album Tapestry, letting the world finally hear her own voice wrapped around her own words.
Phoebe Katis and Dan Clews perform as Carole King and James Taylor. Photo courtesy of the artists.
Taylor stayed close. Guitar in hand, steady and calm, he offered more than music - he gave her something to lean on. Already rising with “Sweet Baby James,” on which Carole played piano and sang backing vocals, his presence softened the weight of the moment. Out front, the room was filled with watchful eyes. Joni Mitchell. David Crosby. The Laurel Canyon circle, record producers, and agents. People who knew music, and knew when something mattered. And then she walked onstage – and changed her life and world music forever.
Katis shared a heartwarming story about how, while working on songs for her Tapestry album, Carole was sitting at a piano playing a melody she had just composed. James Taylor overhead it, telling Carole, “That’s something special.” That melody would become “You’ve Got a Friend,” a song that not only defined their own friendship but also symbolized Carole’s transformation from a songwriter behind the scenes to a performer stepping into her own spotlight.
James Taylor, 23, and Carole King, 29, in England, 1971 the same year both recorded King's classic You've Got a Friend. Photo courtesy of the artists.
An interesting story about the song’s creation: Carole told James that “You’ve Got a Friend” was actually inspired by the line, “I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend,” in HIS song, “Fire and Rain,” and that she wrote it to let him know that during those lonely times to remember he could always turn to her as his friend. Carol then proved her friendship by allowing James to record her brand-new song which he released on his album Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon in May 1971, calling it “the greatest song ever written by a human.”
Carole King's 1971 Tapestry album
With songs like “It’s Too Late,” which spoke to women embracing their independence, and “I Feel the Earth Move,” bursting with newfound confidence, Tapestry became more than just an album—it was a cultural milestone. Her reimagining of “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” originally written for Aretha Franklin, now carried a personal power, as if Carole had finally stepped into her own story. Released in February 1971, it shattered expectations, spending over six years on the charts and winning four Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. Her lyrics, drawn from personal experiences of love, loss, and resilience, struck a chord with a generation in search of deeper meaning, thanks to her unpolished, heartfelt voice which brought an authenticity that resonated with listeners.
Dan Clews and Phoebe Katis perform in The Carole King and James Taylor Story at Daryls House Club in Pawling, NY on 11/9/25. Photo courtesy of the artists.
Yet while Carole’s career was exploding, James was privately unraveling. Clews shared how Taylor spoke openly in interviews later about the grip of heroin during those years, Kames’ failed relationships and marriages, describing the cycle of relapse that seemed inescapable. For someone in his condition, isolation could have been fatal, but Carole refused to allow him to drift away.
In fact, his descent into addiction in the 1970s threatened to derail both his life and career, but Carole King refused to let him lose his connection to music. She welcomed him into her circle of music industry friends in Los Angeles, offering not only friendship but steady opportunities to collaborate. Her support kept Taylor anchored during years when heroin use and depression overshadowed his songwriting. She never gave up on being his friend.
James Taylor and Carole King. Photo courtesy of the artists.
So, it made perfect sense that the grand finale of the show was an audience singalong to “You’ve Got a Friend,” reminding us about the importance of sharing music and our lives, both the good and the bad, with friends who accept us as we really are. And it was very evident so many were doing just that in the audience at BroadStage on the night I attended.
Presented by Night Owl Shows (named for one of Taylor’s songs), The Carole King and James Taylor Story tour continues through California, Arizona and Nevada through May 21, 2026, with future dates being added as they are scheduled. A complete schedule and tickets are available at https://www.nightowlshows.com/content/carole-king-james-taylor-story. I encourage everyone to grab tickets and experience this evening of great music about friendship with those closest to you.
To the best of my memory, the evening’s songs in the order performed:
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?
One Fine Day
It Might as Well Rain Until September
(Down on) Copperline
Knocking Around the Zoo
Home Again
(You Make me Feel Like) A Natural Woman
Carolina in my Mind
Sweet Baby James
It’s Too Late
Fire and Rain
Up on the Roof
So Far Away
You Can Close Your Eyes
A Case for You
Beautiful
Shower the People
I Feel the Earth Move
You’re So Vain
You’ve Got a Friend
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